Removable secondary cooling unit for refrigerator evaporators



T. W. RUNDELL ECONDARY COOLING UNIT FOR REFRIGERATR EVAPORATORS REMOV'ABLE s Fild March 28, 1944 ,6. z. I I

Patente& Jan. 27, 1948 i UNlTED s'rA''a REMOVABLE SECONDARY COOLING UNIT FOR REFRGERATOB EVAPORATORS Theodo-e W. Rundell, Abington, Pa., asslgnor, 'by masne assinments. to Philco Corporation. Philadelphia, Pa..-a co'poration o! Pensylvani'a Application Ma -oh 28, ;944, Serial No. 528.433

This invention relates to refrigeration and more particularly to the use of secondary ireezing or coolingpsystems to efiect localized refrigeration in domestic or other refrigerating apparatus.

Oneobject of the invention is to provide a novel container incorporating a closed'secondary refrigerant circuit and designed for operative association with the evaporator of the main refrigerating system of a refrigerator.

A more specific object of the invention is to 'provide a container of the stated character adapted for detachable suspension within a refrigerator with the condenser portion of the incorporated secondary refrigerant circuit in beat-exchange relation with the said main evaporator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a container of the stated character having means for regulating the degree of he'at exchange between the secondary circuit and the said .main evaporator with which it is assoclated.

A further object is to provide a container incorporating a secondary refrigerant circuit as described and adapted for production of ice, said container preferably including a detachable grid for iorming ice cubes or the like.

Still further, the invention contemplates the provision or a cohtainer of the above type which is susceptible of extremely economical manufacture.

In the attachecl drawings:

Flgure 1 is a ragmentary perspective view of' the lower portion of a domestic refrlgerator embodying the inventlon;

'Figure 2 is a perspective View of the container removed from the refrigerator; i

Figura 3 is a ragmentary sectional View of the container illustrating its manner of association with an evaporator of a refrigerator; and

Claims. (ci. 62-12&

Figures 4 and 5 are tragmentary sectional views illustrating a modified Construction of the invention.

While the invention is not primarily concerned with the specific structure of the associated refrigerator, Figura 1 of the drawings shows the lower portion i ora modern deep-freeze domestic refrigerator of the mechanical type which may include an outer shell or housing 2 and an inner shell or liner 3, said liner encasing a food storage compartment 4 and the upper portion of a freezing compartment 5, and being separated from the outer shell by suitable thermal' insulation 6. Certain features of this portion of the refrigerator structure are disclosed and claimed in a copending application of Donald E. Dailey. serial No.

. 2 515,950, filed December 28, 1943, now Patent No. 2,430,456 issued Nov. 11, 1947.

The reference numeral 'I designates a machinery compartment which houses a motor compressor unit 9. This compartment is defined by a housing o which is separated by the insulation 6 from'the refrigerated portions of the cabinet. As the particular refrigerantflow circuit employed to effect cooling of the food storage'compartment 4 forms no part of the present invention the flow passages and the connections thereto have not been illustrated in the drawings.

A double thickness partition !2 forms a floor for the food storage compartment 4. and attached to the lower edge of the liner 3 at points beneath this partition 2 by suitable connecting means shown' at na, is a, low temperature evaporator M which comprises a deep-freeze storage bin l and a shelf area !6, said evaporator being provided with refrigerant channels l'I which ere supplied with liquid refrigerant through a capillary &8. The vertical wall !9 of evaporator M is provided with an upwardly projecting rim portion 20 the purpose of which will be explained hereinafter. 4

In accordance with the present invention, and

with reference to Figura 2 of the drawings, a sub- I stantially L-shaped member 25 is provided having a continuous closed refrigerant channel 26 partially filled with liquid refrigerant and forming a secondary refrigerating system. The member 25 includes a floor portion zl', a substantialy vertical wall portion 28 which terminates at the.

top in a. downwardiy turnedrange portion 29, and short upstanding walls 30 which form with the floor and lower portion of the wall 28 a shallow tray or container 3! for the reception of water or other liquid or of foodstuffs to be cooled or frozen. While the refrigerant channel may be continued about walls 30 if. desired, it has been coni flned in this embodiment to a sinuous path extending over the floorl and vertical wall 28. That part of the channel associated with the floor and lower area of wall 28 forms the evaporator portion of the secondary system, while the part associated with the upper area of wall 28 forms-the condenser portion of the system. This channel may be formed in any convenient manner but is herein shown as a contimous tube suitably bonded to the outside of said floor and wall portions by welding or soldering as indicated at 32 in Figura 3. Preferably the channel portion associated with the wall 28 is sloped downwardly in amanner to facilitate movement of 3 liquid refrigerant from the upper condenser portion of the system to the lower evaporator portion.

When the tray is to be used for the production of individual ice cubes, it is provided, as illustrated in Figures 1 and 3, with a grid member 33 which may be of the mechanical release type. as indicated at 34 in Figura 1, or plastic or other suitable type. a

In the operation of the device and assumin that the tray is to be used for forming ice cubes, the grid is placed within the tray and the latter filled with water. It is then suspended within the freezing compartment of the refrigerator by engaging the hooked flange 29 of wall 28 with the upstanding rim portion 20 of evaporator !4 so that the weight of the tray may act to urge the condenser portion of the secondary system into intimate heat exchange relation with evapo-' rator l4. Heat from the water in the' tray will be absorbed by the liquid refrigerant in the evaporator portion of the secondary system and the resultant gas will course upwardly through channel 26 to the condenser portion on wall 28 wherein it will be condensed to its liquid state by transfer of heat to the evaporator M, the liquid refrigerant then returning to the evaporator portion of the secondary system.

Upon compietion of the freezing cycle the cub'es may be made individually accessible by removing the grid 33 through actuation of 'the mechanical means 34 and without removing the tray from the freezing compartment. Exposure of the ice cubes to melting temperatures outside of the freezing compartment is thereby avoided and there will be no tendency for the cubes to freeze together during storage. Or, if desired, the tray may readily be removed from the refrigerator by lifting the fiange 29 from engagement with the rim 20 of evaporator !4. Refilling the tray may be accomplished while the tray is still within the refrigerator or it may be removed for that purpose. such frost as may be formed upon the surface of the member 25 during the freezing cycle will be melted off upon introduction into the tray of the relatively warm water to be frozen.

A desirable feature of this construction lies in the fact that the single tray is capable of producing substantially the same quantity of ice as the conventional freezing unit consisting of permanent shelves and separate ice trays, and the cost of Construction is considerably below that of the said conventional unit. i

It is frequently desirable to use the tray for cooling or freezing other liquids or foodstufis such as gelatinous desserts,`ice cream, etc., and it may be found desirable in such instances to modifythe cooling effect of the secondary system so as to prevent crystaliization or other undesirable ei'fect arising from too rapid cooling of the product. One means for modifying the cooling efiect of the system is illustrated in Figures 4 and and comprises a cam 35 pivotally mounted upon a pin 36 journalled in a pair of lugs 31 Secured to the outer lower edge of wall 28. A turning knob 38 is fitted to the outer end of pin 36 for turning the cam against wall s of evaporator !4 to urge wall 28 of member 25 from its normal position, see Figures 3 and 4, and anguarly about its point of engagement with rim 20 as a. pivot to a position removed from direct contact with evaporator M, as illustrated in.`Figure sg'Ijhus the cooling eifect of evaporator !4 upon the condenser portion of. the secondary system is reduced to a degree determined by the adjustment of the cam which may be adapted to remain in any adjusted position.

I claim:

1. A refrigerating apparatus including a refrigerated compartment, a main evaporator for cooling said compartment, and a container for liquids having integral therewith a-closed secondary refrigerant circuit including an evaporator portion and a condenser portion, said condenser portion being normally disposed in heat exchange relation with said main evaporator, and means for adjusting the degree of heat exchange between the secondary condenser and said main evaporator.

2. In combination, an evaporator for refrigerating systems, a shelf-like member, means for detachably supporting said member in surface contact with the evaporator, and means for applying pressure to displace the member with respect to the evaporator so as to break a frost bond between the Contacting surfaces.

3. An evaporator in accordance with claim 2 wherein said force-applying means comprises a rock shaft journaled on themember, and cam means carried by said shaft and arranged for forcible engagement with an adjoining surface of the evaporator when the shaft is turned.

4. In combination with the evaporator of a refrigerating system, a member comprising a bottom wall and a side wall and being substantially L-shaped, means at the top of said side wall for removably suspending the memberon the evaporator structure with the side wall in contact with i an active area of the evaporator and with the bottom wall free from such contact, means at the lower part of said side wall for exerting pressure against the structure tending to separate the wall from said contact area. and a closed refrigerant circuit in said member having portions in both of said walls.

5. In combination an evaporator for refrigerating systems, a member detachably supported in surface contact with the evaporator and comprising a closed refrigerant circuit, and means for applying pressure to displace the member with respect to the said evaporator so as to break a frost bond between the contacting surfaces.

THEODORE W. RUNDELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Phillip Dec. 7, 1943 

